Gravity can refer to either a sense of dignified significance
or to the physical force that draws objects toward a planet's surface. Both definitions were well-represented at the
2014 edition of the Academy Awards on Sunday night. In the first case, "12 Years a Slave" took home the Best Picture trophy at the end of the
evening and the second, as breathtakingly depicted in the movie, "Gravity" tallied the
largest haul with seven Oscars.

During a ceremony which offered no genuinely surprising
winners (the biggest upset was probably in the Best Animated Short Film
category), the only real suspense came at the tail end of its three-and-a-half
hours. Going into Sunday, three of the
nine Best Picture nominees seemed like legitimate possibilities to win: "American
Hustle" and "Gravity," which tied for the lead with 10 nominations each, and "12
Years a Slave," which dealt with the historical atrocity of American slavery in
a way few, if any, films ever had.

The consensus among Oscarologists (which, if it isn't a
word, should be) was that "12 Years" held the edge. But as the little gold men
were handed out, things seemed to be tipping "Gravity's" way, especially when the
3-D tale of orbital peril snared four straight Oscars in the middle of
the proceedings. "American Hustle," on
the other hand, was on its way to a near-record shutout, failing to win a
single prize. (Only 1977's "The Turning
Point" and 1985's "The Color Purple," each of which went 0 for 11, topped its
dubious accomplishment.)

But, as has been the case in the past, a raft of technical
awards was not a sure path to the Academy's top honor, and "Gravity" ended up
one short of another unenviable record: only 1972's "Cabaret" won more Oscars
without getting Best Picture. No science
fiction film has ever won the Academy's ultimate honor.

Although Steve McQueen did not become the first black winner
of a Best Directing Oscar for "12 Years a Slave," Lupita Nyong'o got Best Supporting Actress for her
searing debut performance in the film and John Ridley won for adapting the 19th-century
memoir of African-American Solomon Northrup.
The film prompted a national conversation about the legacy
of antebellum slavery and drew raves for its unstinting depiction of the
brutality inherent in that system of oppression.

During the Oscar ceremony, however, there was a noticeable
lack of import regarding both the content of the eventual Best Picture winner
and the diversity of the Hollywood talent on display, as both nominees and
presenters. There are undoubtedly miles
to go and then some before the American film industry can lay claim to real racial
egalitarianism, but the 2014 Oscars were probably a pleasant sight for attendees
Sidney Poitier, the first black Best Actor winner, and Whoopi Goldberg, the
second black Best Supporting Actress winner.
It's not automatically breaking news when a person of color wins an
Academy Award, and that's progress.

The only other multiple winners on Sunday were "Frozen"
(Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song), "The Great Gatsby" (Best
Costume Design and Best Production Design), and "Dallas Buyers Club" (Best
Actor and Best Supporting Actor). In the
latter, Matthew McConaughey capped his career resurgence – in what some are calling
the "McConnaissance"— and gave an acceptance speech that was somewhere between
charming and self-obsessed, while Jared Leto scored for his fully realized portrayal
of the transsexual Rayon.

Cate Blanchett, as expected, won Best Actress for her lead
role in Woody Allen's "Blue Jasmine," the seventh Oscar awarded to a female
performer in one of Allen's films.
Perhaps in reaction to the recent resurgence of abuse allegations against Allen, she mentioned him only briefly in her acceptance speech. Spike Jonze, the onetime skateboarding
chronicler and Beastie Boys auteur, won Best Original Screenplay for his
boy-and-his-computer romance "Her."

When even awards such as Best Foreign Film ("The Great
Beauty") and Best Documentary Feature ("20 Feet from Stardom") are eminently
predictable to anyone with an Internet connection and a half-hour to kill, it
takes some of the fun out of the Oscars.
Analyzed to near-death, the ceremony itself ends up often feeling more
like a coronation than a dramatic competition-cum-tribute to the year in
film. Still, there were moments in this
year's show (most notably Nyong'o's poised, heartfelt, star-confirming acceptance
speech) that drove home how, even diminished, the event can capture a sense of
the past, present, and future of movies.